Palermo

The foundation of Palermo dates back to the 7th century BC when the Phoenicians named it Zyz which means "flower". A city with a strategic position on an island that dominates the Mediterranean, Palermo has been the object of numerous hegemonies that have given the city a cultural and historical richness and an amalgam of styles that over time have met and merged with each other, such as the Arab Norman style, the result of the peaceful coexistence of two successive dominations that gave birth to a style of rare complexity and beauty. Panormos in Greek and Panormus in Roman, "All Port" by virtue of the presence of two rivers whose flow into the sea creates a huge natural landing place, boasts all the dominations that have affected Sicily and its streets and its palaces draw a precise physical space, but above all a historical-temporal space that has left riches of which citizens and tourists can testify by walking along its streets. Capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, after the unification of Italy it experienced a period of strong expansion and growth, especially in the first decades of the twentieth century, although its contemporary history also returns a Palermo torn by the mafia phenomenon, which nevertheless never has stopped seeking redemption. Today the city, the regional capital, has 700,000 inhabitants and is an important hub for trade and business on the island, not only nationally but also internationally and in 2018 it was awarded the title of Italian City of Culture.